This comprehensive and stimulating Handbook examines the contribution of political economy to public policy. It provides an overview of several strands of critical political economy, supported by case studies from OECD countries, Latin America, South Africa, and South and East Asia. With discussions on key theories of political economy, the Handbook introduces cultural and feminist political economies, engaging critically with ordoliberalism and New Public Management. Chapters feature discussions on political economic approaches to the global division of labor, financialization and dispossession in Latin America, ecological perspectives on sustainability in China, global exploitation chains in agriculture, and postcolonial criticisms of economic development. The Handbook concludes with an exploration of the relationship between political economy and social policy, global health, and public policies. Providing a combination of critical engagement with the various theories of political economy and their application to key economic policies, this will be essential reading for students and academics in comparative politics, economics and finance, international relations, political economy, public policy, and political science. Policymakers interested in addressing socially and environmentally unsustainable practices will also find this an illuminating and informative resource.

Nearly all the discussions to date about BRICS have been uncritical. Many well-known analysts have greeted it with outright enthusiasm, on the mistaken perception that it represents a new power bloc that will democratise the world order or offer an emerging economic market for financial investors. A recent New York Times editorial claimed, for instance, that the BRICS countries “aimed at challenging the American-led global economic order”, while the Mail & Guardian pronounced, “South Africa is the nation that stands to benefit the most”. This volume aims to fill a gap in studies of BRICS. It offers a critical analysis of the rise of the BRICS countries’ economies within the framework of a global capitalism that is increasingly predatory, exclusionary and unequal, no more so than in the BRICS countries themselves. The authors reflect upon the rise of a Global South (and East), which is sometimes cooperative with and sometimes antagonistic to the traditional powers of the US, Europe and Japan. Most importantly, BRICS’s rise occurs in the context of the expansion of capitalism in the 21st century, and also in the midst of world capitalism’s worst crisis since the 1930s. The point of this analysis is, firstly, to promote debate between social movements, organised labour and other activists in the struggle for social justice and for alternatives to the current international capitalist order. BRICS is a new area of concern for many. The second goal is to generate critical debate on contemporary themes and theoretical discussions. The book will be required reading for those who wish to have an alternative perspective on this Global south partnership.

This timely and accessible volume explores how our understanding of research in child development can help cultivate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes children need for informed and thoughtful participation in society by viewing the curriculum through a developmental lens. Gordon Biddle and Garcia-Nevarez cover a range of key topics including characteristics of physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development of children; heritable and environmental influences on children's developing self; language and literacy development; mathematical cognition; growth mindsets; and evidence-based positive behavioral interventions and supports. The expert team of contributors offers an advanced exploration of developmental science and how this applies to learning and education in order to create inclusive environments that support children with a range of abilities, including those with the most significant medical, intellectual, and developmental delays. Each chapter contains boxes exploring how the topic relates to the themes of "Promoting Social and Emotional Competence Theory," "Research to Practice Connection," "Common Core and Other Standards," and "Social Justice and Diversity," ensuring comprehensive and consistent coverage across the volume. Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum and Instruction will be essential reading for students of child development and education, as well as educators and those in teacher training who are interested in how theory and research can be effectively harnessed to improve children's outcomes.

This book integrates socially responsible investment into modern portfolio theory from a multi-criteria perspective. Socially responsible investment is a "new deal" championed by the institutional investment and bank sectors, agents that influence mutual funds and other collective investment schemes and which fear that financial strategies without ethical constraints can harm sustainable growth and prosperity. The book shows how to combine financial criteria such as profitability and risk with non-financial criteria such as the protection of the ecosystem, responsible consumption of energy, and healthcare campaigns. The book's first part presents critical issues in ethical investment, while the second explains in detail the application of goal programming techniques for SRI funds, illustrating their use in actual cases. Part three demonstrates how compromise programming can be applied in the contexts of portfolio selection and risk management. Finally, in its fourth part the book examines the application of other decision-making support methods like the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) framework, the Reference Point Method, and soft computing techniques for portfolio selection.

This book integrates socially responsible investment into modern portfolio theory from a multi-criteria perspective. Socially responsible investment is a "new deal" championed by the institutional investment and bank sectors, agents that influence mutual funds and other collective investment schemes and which fear that financial strategies without ethical constraints can harm sustainable growth and prosperity. The book shows how to combine financial criteria such as profitability and risk with non-financial criteria such as the protection of the ecosystem, responsible consumption of energy, and healthcare campaigns. The book's first part presents critical issues in ethical investment, while the second explains in detail the application of goal programming techniques for SRI funds, illustrating their use in actual cases. Part three demonstrates how compromise programming can be applied in the contexts of portfolio selection and risk management. Finally, in its fourth part the book examines the application of other decision-making support methods like the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) framework, the Reference Point Method, and soft computing techniques for portfolio selection.

This timely and accessible volume explores how our understanding of research in child development can help cultivate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes children need for informed and thoughtful participation in society by viewing the curriculum through a developmental lens. Gordon Biddle and Garcia-Nevarez cover a range of key topics including characteristics of physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development of children; heritable and environmental influences on children's developing self; language and literacy development; mathematical cognition; growth mindsets; and evidence-based positive behavioral interventions and supports. The expert team of contributors offers an advanced exploration of developmental science and how this applies to learning and education in order to create inclusive environments that support children with a range of abilities, including those with the most significant medical, intellectual, and developmental delays. Each chapter contains boxes exploring how the topic relates to the themes of "Promoting Social and Emotional Competence Theory," "Research to Practice Connection," "Common Core and Other Standards," and "Social Justice and Diversity," ensuring comprehensive and consistent coverage across the volume. Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum and Instruction will be essential reading for students of child development and education, as well as educators and those in teacher training who are interested in how theory and research can be effectively harnessed to improve children's outcomes.

Irrespective of whether we use economic or societal metrics, the Internet is one of the most important technical infrastructures in existence today. It will serve as a catalyst for much of our innovation and prosperity in the future. A competitive Europe will require Internet connectivity and services beyond the capabilities offered by current technologies. Future Internet research is therefore a must. The Future Internet Assembly (FIA) is a successful and unique bi-annual conference that brings together participants of over 150 projects from several distinct but interrelated areas in the EU Framework Programme 7. The 20 full papers included in this volume were selected from 40 submissions, and are preceded by a vision paper describing the FIA Roadmap. The papers have been organized into topical sections on the foundations of Future Internet, the applications of Future Internet, Smart Cities, and Future Internet infrastructures.

This open access book presents the foundations of the Big Data research and innovation ecosystem and the associated enablers that facilitate delivering value from data for business and society. It provides insights into the key elements for research and innovation, technical architectures, business models, skills, and best practices to support the creation of data-driven solutions and organizations. The book is a compilation of selected high-quality chapters covering best practices, technologies, experiences, and practical recommendations on research and innovation for big data. The contributions are grouped into four parts: * Part I: Ecosystem Elements of Big Data Value focuses on establishing the big data value ecosystem using a holistic approach to make it attractive and valuable to all stakeholders. * Part II: Research and Innovation Elements of Big Data Value details the key technical and capability challenges to be addressed for delivering big data value. * Part III: Business, Policy, and Societal Elements of Big Data Value investigates the need to make more efficient use of big data and understanding that data is an asset that has significant potential for the economy and society. * Part IV: Emerging Elements of Big Data Value explores the critical elements to maximizing the future potential of big data value. Overall, readers are provided with insights which can support them in creating data-driven solutions, organizations, and productive data ecosystems. The material represents the results of a collective effort undertaken by the European data community as part of the Big Data Value Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the European Commission and the Big Data Value Association (BDVA) to boost data-driven digital transformation.

The emergence of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa on a global stage has upset the dominance of the United States as the world's only superpower. But can they chart a path toward a more just global economy? This collection, which brings together leading political economists from around the world, argues that the BRICS are actually amplifying some of the worst features of international capitalism. This book aims to fill a gap in studies of the BRICS grouping of countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). It provides a critical analysis of their economies, societies and geopolitical strategies within the framework of a global capitalism that is increasingly predatory, unequal and ecologically self-destructive -- no more so than in the BRICS countries themselves. In unprecedented detail and with great innovation, the contributors consider theoretical traditions in political economy as applied to the BRICS, including "sub-imperialism," the World System perspective and dynamics of territorial expansion. Only such an approach can interpret the potential for a "brics-from-below" uprising that appears likely to accompany the rise of the BRICS. Contributors: Elmar Altvater, Baruti Amisi, Patrick Bond, Omar Bonilla, Einar Braathen, Pedro Henrique Campos, Ruslan Dzarasov, Virginia Fontes, Ana Garcia, Ho-fung Hung, Richard Kamidza, Karina Kato, Claudio Katz, Mathias Luce, Farai Maguwu, Judith Marshall, Gilmar Mascarenhas, Sam Moyo, Leo Panitch, Bobby Peek, Gonzalo Pozo, Vijay Prashad, Niall Reddy, William Robinson, Susanne Soederberg, Celina Sorboe, Achin Vanaik, Immanuel Wallerstein and Paris Yeros.

BRICS is a grouping of the five major emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Volume five in the Democratic Marxism series, BRICS and the New American Imperialism challenges the mainstream understanding of BRICS and US dominance to situate the new global rivalries engulfing capitalism. It offers novel analyses of BRICS in the context of increasing US induced imperial chaos, deepening environmental crisis tendencies (such as climate change and water scarcity), contradictory dynamics inside BRICS countries and growing subaltern resistance. The authors revisit contemporary thinking on imperialism and anti-imperialism, drawing on the work of Rosa Luxemburg, one of the leading theorists after Marx, who attempted to understand the expansionary nature of capitalism from the heartlands to the peripheries. The richness of Luxemburg's pioneering work inspires most of the volume's contributors in their analyses of the dangerous contradictions of the contemporary world as well as forms of democratic agency advancing resistance. While various forms of resistance are highlighted, among them water protests, mass worker strikes, anti-corporate campaigning and forms of cultural critique, this volume grapples with the challenge of renewing anti-imperialism beyond the NGO-driven World Social Forum and considers the prospects of a new horizontal political vessel to build global convergence. It also explores the prospects of a Fifth International of Peoples and Workers.

This open access book presents the foundations of the Big Data research and innovation ecosystem and the associated enablers that facilitate delivering value from data for business and society. It provides insights into the key elements for research and innovation, technical architectures, business models, skills, and best practices to support the creation of data-driven solutions and organizations. The book is a compilation of selected high-quality chapters covering best practices, technologies, experiences, and practical recommendations on research and innovation for big data. The contributions are grouped into four parts: * Part I: Ecosystem Elements of Big Data Value focuses on establishing the big data value ecosystem using a holistic approach to make it attractive and valuable to all stakeholders. * Part II: Research and Innovation Elements of Big Data Value details the key technical and capability challenges to be addressed for delivering big data value. * Part III: Business, Policy, and Societal Elements of Big Data Value investigates the need to make more efficient use of big data and understanding that data is an asset that has significant potential for the economy and society. * Part IV: Emerging Elements of Big Data Value explores the critical elements to maximizing the future potential of big data value. Overall, readers are provided with insights which can support them in creating data-driven solutions, organizations, and productive data ecosystems. The material represents the results of a collective effort undertaken by the European data community as part of the Big Data Value Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the European Commission and the Big Data Value Association (BDVA) to boost data-driven digital transformation.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Ubiquitous Networking, UNet 2017, held in Casablanca, Morocco, in May 2017. The 56 full papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 127 submissions. They were organized in topical sections named: context-awareness and autonomy paradigms; mobile edge networking and virtualization; ubiquitous internet of things: emerging technologies and breakthroughs; and enablers, challenges and applications.

Six captivating and engaging stories with clear phonics progression, ideal for children who are growing in reading confidence. Join Tops and friends on a journey to meet the Dinosaur King, discover a planet made out of cake and find out what Snoot really, really wants for his birthday! With a variety of stunning artwork styles and six funny, heart-warming and exciting stories, this collection has something for everyone. The stories have been specially written to support and develop your child's growing reading skills as they start to read more words and longer sentences with less help. Activities after every story make reading fun and reinforce comprehension. Each collection also features tips for parents to help you support your child's developing reading skills. Featuring much-loved characters, great authors, engaging storylines and fun activities, Read with Oxford offers an exciting range of carefully levelled reading books to build your child's reading confidence. Read with Oxford Stage 3 equates to Oxford Levels 4 and 5 used in schools. For more information about the Read with Oxford Stages, as well as practical advice, free eBooks and fun activities to help your child progress, go to readwithoxford.com. Let's get them flying!

This book constitutes the refereed post-proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Adaptive Multimedia Retrieval, AMR 2011, held in Barcelona, Spain, in July 2011. The 9 revised full papers and the invited contribution presented were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers cover topics ranging from theoretical work to practical implementations and its evaluation, most of them dealing with audio or music media. They are organized in topical sections on evaluation and user studies, audio and music, image retrieval, and similarity and music.

Edited by art historian Noelia Garcia Perez, this first-ever collection of essays on Juana of Austria, the younger daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and sister to Philip II of Spain, offers an interdisciplinary study of the Habsburg princess that addresses her political, religious, and artistic dimensions. The volume's contextual framework shows her sharing agency with other women of her dynastic family who governed in the sixteenth century and developed an outstanding reputation for promoting artists and works of art. The Making of Juana of Austria demonstrates how Juana's role as a leading patron of the arts offered her a means of creating her own image, which she then promulgated through the objects she collected and her crowning architectural endeavor, the Monastery-Palace of the Descalzas Reales. Drawing on early modern literature, archival documents, and artworks, the essays in this volume delineate a new portrait of Juana of Austria. Contributors not only highlight her multiple facets-princess of Portugal, regent of Castile, and the only female Jesuit in history-but also show her as a discerning art patron and collector who pursued an active role of patronage, through which she constructed her own art collection and used it to articulate a visual statement of her lineage, power, and religious convictions. Her role as an art promoter culminated with the foundation of the Descalzas Reales and the works of art she collected and displayed within its walls. The Making of Juana of Austria offers a new perspective on female rule and patronage, exploring the achievements of a crucial figure in the history of art, court, and gender in early modern Europe.

Beth zooms to Planet Cake in her rocket. But on Planet Cake, the rocks are not what they seem! Oxford Reading Tree Story Sparks is an emotionally-engaging fiction series that will fire children's imaginations and develop their comprehension skills. The variety of authors and illustrators broadens children's reading experience, with something to appeal to every child. This story is one of six titles at Oxford Level 4, which are phonically decodable with some extra high-interest words to expand children's vocabularies and enrich the stories. All the books in the series are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every reader to the right book.